Friday, July 30, 2010

There is much more to a projector lamp than meets the eye; it is certainly not just a simple bulb. Sony projector lamps for instance are incredibly bright, and they only achieve this brightness via a complex chemical and electrical system, housed in a sealed module.

The lamps are precision-made components that require specialised equipment and intensive, skilled human input. It stands to reason therefore that there are few manufacturers in the world with the necessary specialist equipment to build them.

All this makes the lamp by far the costliest part of any projector; thus it follows that they are expensive to replace.

How Sony's projector lamps work

Not so long ago, projectors used halogen lamps, which gave a low intensity yellow light and burned out quickly. As digital technology arrived, so did the new generation of powerful metal halide lamps. This powerful light (Sony's projector lamps average 1000 lumen or higher) is necessary to activate the LCD or DLP panel that then produces the superior images modern projectors are known for.

Sony projector lamps operate by sending an electrical current across an ultra-high pressure ARC tube containing mercury vapour. The tube responds by generating an incredible amount of heat - hot enough to vaporise the mercury vapour, which then responds by generating a bright light (or plasma) onto the LCD screen.

Metal halide lamps produce an incredibly high light output for their size, making them ideal for use in compact, modern Sony projectors. Although they are expensive, they typically last for 2000 hours or more - much longer than the old halogen bulbs.

The downside of this is the amount of heat they produce - a cause of early burnout - and the safety aspect. Sony projector lamps need special fixtures to enable soft operation. They are also a "point" light source, so need auxiliary components, such as quartz reflectors, to focus the light where it's needed.

Why genuine projector lamps from Sony cost what they do

Replacing a worn-out projector lamp is about more than just a bulb. Mercury vapour is hazardous, especially when it is igniting under pressure. Therefore, the bulb has a thick glass lens in front to protect the user should the bulb explode.

Sony projector lamps are linked to auxiliary systems, which control the electrical discharge levels during start-up and operation. During assembly it is extremely important the bulb is aligned correctly with the reflector and this must be remembered when it is replaced so the projectors are designed to make this process simple.

A projector bulb is rather delicate, and can easily be damaged. This makes replacement of the bulb alone a specialist job, best left to a qualified technician. Instead, Sony projector lamps are sold as a complete unit, comprising both the projector bulb and housing making it easy for anyone to install a genuine Sony projector bulb.

Although this makes Sony projector lamps a little more expensive, it also means the average user can replace them with just a basic screwdriver and saving much more money in the long term.

The author James Kean represents JP-UK, a specialist UK supplier of projector lamps and bulbs as well as ink toners and cartridges. For further information, follow the link for projector lamps and find out more.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Like many bulbs, the projector lamp is a delicate object albeit much more expensive than your average household bulb so it is important to ensure your lamps last as long as possible. It is surprising to see how some places only need a new projector lamp every few years and others require them every few months. Here is some advice to help ensure your projector lamps last as long as possible:

Let the projector cool

This is probably the main reason why projector bulbs may need replacing more often when people do not allow the project lamp to cool before they move the projector or switch it back on again. Many projectors power down on their own so do not move the projector whilst in this mode. If you have an older projector model, you might have an on/off switch for the bulb and a separate on/off switch for the machine. In this case, switch the projector off first and once that has powered down, then switch the projector off.

Similarly, do not move, shake or bump the projector whilst the projector is still switched on. They are very sensitive and movement could cause the projector to blow or shorten its life.

Overheating

If the projector bulb is overheating, then it will burn out earlier than it should. The main reason for overheating is when users do not clean the projector filter regularly. It should be cleaned once every three months or so with a can of compressed air but the frequency should be increased to monthly if the projector is in a dusty environment. Another sure way to overheat your projector bulb is to block the fan exhaust so take note where the fan is on your projector and make sure it has a minimum of two or three feet of room to breathe.

Never touch the lamp because your fingers have natural oil on them and this oil can also cause the projector lamp to overheat and burn out prematurely. Only touch the metal housing.

Save projector lamp hours

Most modern projectors nowadays have what is called an economy or eco-mode. This uses less brightness from the projector bulb meaning the projector lamp will last much longer so don't use more brightness than you need.

Keep the projector at room temperature

Projector lamp sales always increase in the spring or after summer holidays. The main reason for this is that people leave their projector in the cold over winter or even in the car for a day or two. The quick change in temperature will cause a projector lamp to blow if you switch a cold projector on so let it warm to room temperature first. Never leave the projector in the car or in extreme heat because the projector lamp will overheat and burn.

Following these tips should give you months of extra use from your projector bulb. This is by no means an exhaustive list of tips to help make sure your bulbs last as long as possible but it does include the main reasons that a projector lamp may have a shortened life.

The author James Kean represents JP-UK, a specialist UK supplier of projector lamps and bulbs as well as ink toners and cartridges. For further information, visit http://www.jp-uk.co.uk for projector lamps.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

If you are looking for a good presentation, you definitely need to use an audio visual aid. As such, projector lamps are an indispensable device used in business and educational organizations, where they are used to transfer images from a multimedia projector on to a larger and wider screen.

These lamps have actually replaced the halogen bulbs that were used earlier and that gave a yellow tone to the images. On the other hand, the projector lamps basically use metal halide bulbs (mostly mercury vapor bulbs) that produce excellent white light and thus enhances the quality of the image.

These lamps do not only have professional uses, but are also used widely at homes for movie or home theaters. They can send the movie or film images on the big screen for a larger audience to see. The working of the projector lamp is based on the property of reflection where the lamp shines onto a number of small mirrors that is placed inside the projector. The image is then transferred through the air and is finally visible on the screen.

The projector lamps have varied uses - they are used to project films, slides, as well as images drawn on a transparent plastic sheet. These lamps are categorized into three main types, namely, slide projectors, multimedia projectors and overhead projectors. While slide projectors are quite reasonable and are used solely to project slides measuring 35 millimeters to demonstrate certain materials at hand, the multimedia projectors are quite expensive. They have the ability to transfer a film reel, a videotape or a DVD to a blank wall or a large screen.

Apart from these, there are overhead projectors that have a much simpler use. They mostly have an educational use, where the teacher or the demonstrator, uses it to display the content on a blank screen for an entire class.

Keeping in mind the vitality of these lamps, it is but obvious that these lamps need proper attention and care. It should be remembered that these lamps are quite sensitive to movement and moving the projector while the lamp is on can cause serious damage to the projector. Moreover, care should be taken while changing the projector lamp, as touching of the glass housing of the lamp is strictly prohibited. This is because the oil from our fingers can result in bursting of the lamp, and therefore, it is recommended that the lamp should be handled only through its metal case.

Last but not the least, these lamps are meant to be used in room temperatures and extremities of the climate, especially extreme winters, are quite hazardous for the lamp.

With the advent of latest technologies, the life expectancy of projector lamps has increased from 1000 hours to almost 2000 hours. Some of the most expensive multimedia projectors also have an astonishing life of 4000 to 6000 hours. However, older models also show an extended life if used properly, particularly if they are used in an economy-mode, where the setting uses less brightness from the lamp.

Thus, by sacrificing a little brightness, you can save a lot of money as your projector lamp lasts quite longer. Hence, you can bring in the space age to your living rooms, classrooms and conference rooms with these amazing projector lamps.

Anita Agrawal is a content writer who has wide experience and expertise in writing articles on various topics. Find more articles written by her. For example, for latest tips and ideas about dogs, visit her dog's website at http://DogLoverClubs.com

Saturday, July 17, 2010

In terms of multimedia presentations, LCD projectors have proven to provide impressive image quality and high resolutions. However, if your projector suddenly fails to work and you need to present a proposal with potential clients, it could cause your business to lose money, or worse, it could cause your job.

The most common problem of projectors is the sudden burn out of LCD projector lamps. Fortunately, these LCD projector lamps can be easily replaced. Although anyone can replace the lamps for your LCD projector, choosing the lamp can be an overwhelming task. You need to ensure that the type of lamp you buy is compatible with your projector.

A high-quality LCD projector lamp should be able to operate for over 4,000 hours. However, the measurements of lamp life are not reliable because the lamp can still work, even if it becomes dimmer. For this reason, you need to check the "peak lamp life" listed in most manufacturers of LCD projector lamps, which provides users with information of the total brightness a particular lamp could provide.

Choosing a high-quality lamp for your LCD projector should be your first concern, instead of price. Compared to the affordable halogen lamps that last about 70 hours, metal halide lamps can work up to 500 hours. Meaning, the more expensive LCD projector lamp you choose, the longer-lasting life it would provide.

How to Choose an LCD Projector Lamp

There are only two types of lamps used in LCD projectors - metal halide and tungsten halogen. In order to choose a quality lamp, you have to understand how each one works.

A metal-halide lamp provides better brightness, but lower consumption of power. Be aware that lamp wattages do not reflect the brightness. Metal-halide LCD projector lamps are more efficient because it could provide your projector with a very white light until the end of its life.

On the other hand, tungsten-halogen lamps produce whiter lights because it runs at a higher temperature than other lamps. Although the white light will become yellow during its lifetime, it provides a longer lamp life because of its low-pressure and high temperature features.

Although metal-halide LCD projector lamps are more expensive, they could provide over 2,000 hours compared to the tungsten-halogen lamps' 70 hours of operation. Be aware that lamps of your projectors could last longer when you operate them in "economy mode", which automatically cools down when the projector becomes idle.

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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

There are a few things that you should know to ensure that you not only change your bulb properly, but that it is done at the right time to avoid injury or damage to your projector.

When to change the projector lamp

Sometimes, you will know when to change the bulb because one day you will switch on the projector and it will not work. There are a number of environmental factors that can shorten the life of a projector lamp because the bulbs are delicate objects. Factors such as letting the bulb cool before moving the projector, not cleaning the filter or even storing the projector lamp in a cold or warm place can all shorten its expected lamp life.

However, assuming this is not the case, you should see a message appear on the projector stating something along the lines of 'Lamp Life Exceeded'. When this message appears, you should replace the bulb. It is an important point that you should not exceed the lamp life by more than 20 percent. Older bulbs become very fragile and this is usually the case when you hear of them exploding. This is not only dangerous but can damage your equipment.

It is always useful to have one or two replacement projector lamps on hand to ensure you can replace the bulb at the right time and use the projector when you need to.

To tell how old your bulb is, there is usually an option in the menu of the projector showing how many hours have passed. There should also be a reset option for when you install a new lamp.

How long should a lamp last?

A typical lamp will last for around 2000 projection hours. Genuine lamps may seem expensive with prices typically between £150 and £500 but when you work this out, that is only 8p to 25p per projection hour.

As with all models, no matter how old the lamp is it can take just one sharp knock, or being left in an extreme temperature for a short while, to adversely affect the life of the bulb so it is worth keeping a replacement bulb on hand.

How to change a projector bulb

Possibly the most important point is to ensure that you only purchase genuine replacement projector lamps and you must get the right one for your model. Never use a bulb intended for another brand or model, such as using Epson projector lamps in a Sony projector.

Make sure the old bulb has sufficiently cooled; otherwise it may explode with handling. As a general rule, ensure that your projector has had around 30 minutes to cool.

Unplug the projector and remove the lamp cover, which is normally on the bottom of the projector and is held in place with screws or a clip. Remove the lamp module and the old lamp. Reverse the process to install your replacement bulb, switch the power back on and check the new lamp works. Remember to reset the projector hours in the lamp life menu option.

Disposing of the old bulb

Be sure to dispose of your old lamp carefully. Projector lamps should be recycled to ensure environmental safety.

The author James Kean represents JP-UK, a specialist UK supplier of projector lamps and bulbs as well as ink toners and cartridges. For further information, visit http://www.jp-uk.co.uk for projector lamps.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

The purpose of this white paper is to provide an overview of the current projector lamp market, including the emergence of UHP lamps, compatible lamps, specialist lamp distributors and the underlying economic conditions.

This paper is divided into sections. The main ones are on projector lamp technology and the economic factors. These are followed by an appendix and glossary.

Lamp technology

Overview

The lamp is the primary component of the illumination system in a projector. It is usually accessible behind a door in the projector so that it can be replaced. Sometimes a projector will have two lamps; they may be used at the same time or one may take over when the other fails.

Most common projectors use metal halide lamps, ultra high pressure lamps (UHP), variants of UHP and, in larger projectors, Xenon lamps. Although the Xenon lamps are smaller than those in film projectors, they use the same technology. Xenon lamps naturally achieve better colour reproduction than metal halide lamps, which are red deficient, but they aren't as energy-efficient and they don't last as long.

What I'm calling a lamp is actually a lamp module. It consists of a bulb and a reflector in a housing, with electrical contacts for receiving power.

The reflector

The reflector projects the light from the bulb onto a component in the projector called an integrator. This takes the form of either a "fly-eye" lens (so named because its surface is composed of multiple lens elements in a rectangular array, much like the compound eye of an insect) or a light pipe, the latter either a rectangular glass rod or a rectangular mirrored tube. Its purpose is to homogenise and shape the light beam to ensure uniform illumination of every pixel with minimal wasted light.

The design of the reflector is very important, as it has to collect as much light from the bulb as possible. It looks like a hemisphere but is usually elliptical or parabolic in cross section.

Reflectors vary in sophistication. For example, a fourth-power parabolic reflector is much more accurate and even in its distribution of light waves emitted from a focal point than a second-power parabolic. Fourth-power parabolic reflectors, however, are more difficult to accurately manufacture.

Then there are the elliptical reflectors. One of the properties of an ellipse is that it has two focuses (or foci). If you have a light source at one focus of an ellipse, the light beams that hit the ellipse are reflected so that they come together at the second focus (see diagram by downloading the actual whitepaper at tekgia.com).

This concentrates the light from a lamp onto a lens so that you get as much light as possible delivered to the screen. If your source is bigger than a single point, some of the beams do not originate precisely at the first focus, and thus end up missing the second focus point and straying. Also, the wider the ellipse (meaning the greater the distance between the two focal points) the larger the beam spot will be at the second focus.

Bulb size and stray beams of light

As you would expect, stray beams cause problems. Light that is not funneled through the optics will strike other surfaces inside the projector, reducing brightness on the screen, and increasing heat in the projector. You may also get annoying and distracting light leaking through vents in the projector.

Furthermore, stray light may find its way back into the optics, and end up striking the screen in places where it should not. This impacts the contrast of the image. Instead of showing solid black, the stray light will lighten the black into gray.

An interesting solution to the problem of stray light beams is to reduce the size of the light source. The ideal source would be infinitely small. Any stray light would be infinitesimally small. There would be no noticeable loss of brightness (or luminance - the amount of light produced).

So the goal has been to make as small a projector lamp as possible.

This takes us to the bulb itself. Metal halide lamps spark across a gas-filled gap to create the light. The gaps are typically 2 mm or larger. Such sizes can cause colour and luminance stability problems. They also tend to deposit materials such as tungsten on the lamp while it is on, reducing brightness early on in the life of the lamp.

In 1995, Philips introduced the ultra high pressure lamp (UHP). These lamps are not metal halide lamps. Instead, they use an arc in a pure mercury vapor under very high pressure. The pressure is typically over 200 atmospheres or 200bar (a car tyre is typically under 3bar).

The arc gap tends to be much smaller than those of the metal halide lamps, typically 1.3 to 1.0 mm across. This smaller light source is much more efficient. A 100 watt UHP lamp in a projector can deliver more light to the screen than a 250 watt metal halide lamp.

Other influential factors

I will briefly cover other factors that are influential in the design and manufacture of a projector lamp.

The reflector has to be engineered to give an even field of light (no hotspot in the middle), the glass of the lamp needs to be as transparent as possible, and the filament as free as possible of impurities (they affect the colour temperature of the output).

Then there is the dichroic coating of the reflector. This allows infra-red light (heat) to pass through while reflecting visible light, thereby reducing the amount of heat shooting through the LCD element (or at the DLP mirrors if your projector is a DLP one).

Then there are the materials used. A projector lamp is made of material resistant to high pressure and high temperature.

To see the sections on Economics (Market Conditions, Investment, The Supply Chain, Compatible Lamps) and the Appendix (Lamp Life, The Difference Between a Bulb, a Lamp, a Housing and a Module), download the actual White Paper on Projector Lamps from tekgia.com.

Friday, July 9, 2010

New projectors are supplied with a new lamp fitted, which for the average projector lasts around 2,000 hours. For business use, using a projector 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, the lamp should last over a year.

Replacement lamps or lamp modules

Majority of projector lamp manufacturers give a 3 months RTB warranty on new lamps. This warranty commences from date of purchase/invoice.

Lamps or lamp modules

Manufacturers lamps vary, but can be sold as "lamp only" or as a lamp module, as shown above.

When replacing a new lamp into the existing lamp module housing, a suitably qualified electrician or on-site professional should only undertake it. It is important to ensure the terminals are not over tightened as the ceramic can be cracked and reduce the electronic insulation of the bulb. Similarly, if the bulb is under tightened, it can cause arcing on the terminal, which puts undue load on the ballast that can lead to failure.

Lamp modules are more commonplace and can be likened to car headlights, where you buy the "unit" which just slots in. To replace a lamp module, you simply undue the necessary screws on your projector, lift out the old lamp module, insert the new lamp module and tighten the screws. Obviously, specific instructions on how to replace bulb modules will vary slightly from projector to projector, so the instruction manual should be consulted and the replacement undertaken by a suitably qualified person.

Useful tips on prolonging lamp life

Never touch the lamp with your fingers, always use a cloth for handling. Deposits from fingerprints cause temperature "hot spots" and temperature gradient stresses the glass often resulting in earlier lamp failure.

Keep the air filters of your projector clean as block filters make the lamp overheat, possibly causing earlier lamp failure. There should always be good airflow around the projector.

Always switch off the projector using the remote control and not by disconnecting the power. The projector will invariably go into a cool down mode where the image is turned off and the fan accelerates to cool the lamp in a controlled manner. The temperature of an operating lamp is many 1,000's of degrees, so if you disconnect the power to the projector, prior to the above process, the glass in the lamp will cool unevenly and will result in stress fracture, causing early lamp failure. We are led to believe that you can shorten your projector lamp life by up to 50% simply by disconnecting the power instead of switching off the projector by remote control and allowing the natural cooling process to take place.

Lamp failure can also be due to mechanical shock and vibration. A hot lamp filament is fragile and you should always ensure the unit is turned off and the lamp is cool before moving the projector.

If your projector has a high/low lamp/lamp switch, you can extend your average lamp life by using the "low lamp/lamp" position whenever possible.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Some people think that buying a home projector is the same as buying a TV or AV system. The cost, of course, has everything to do with which home projector that you finally decide to buy but in actual fact, spending a little bit more time researching and finding out more about home projector systems can make your investment more worthwhile.

Brightness, typically, is measured in ANSI lumens. For a typical home projector system, the brightness can range anywhere between 700 and 2,000 lumens. The brightness, itself, does not determine the quality of the picture that you will receive from your home projector. The environment of your home will pretty much determine the outcome. Therefore, before you buy a home projector, take into account the ambience of the room that you'll be placing the home projector system in. If you have a special TV viewing room with controlled lighting, you don't and won't need a home projector that gives out too much brightness. However, if you're placing the home projector in the living room where there are open windows or ambient lighting, you'll need a far brighter home projector to make it worth your while.

Most experts recommend that TV rooms or dedicated home theatre spaces need a 700 lumens home projector or more. Rooms with ambient lighting should use a home projector with at least 900 lumens or more. In open spaces or living rooms with extremely high lighting, you'll need a home projector with at least 2,500 lumens.

When shopping for your home projector, take a quick look for a menu that is easy to use. Some professional or business home projectors are not as user-friendly as the projectors made for home users. Your home projector should make it as hassle-free as possible for you change the color, brightness, switch between HDTV and NTSC and adjust your video input sources. Most home projectors come with a remote control because it could be hard if your home projector is fixed on the ceiling or high up on the wall, but be careful and be sure to ask the sales person if the home projector unit that you're interested in buying comes with a remote control.

Do you want to mount the home projector on the ceiling or place it on a table? Well, both options have its advantages and disadvantages. Mounting the home projector on the ceiling gives more space, creates a more polished look for your viewing area. It won't be knocked off the table by kids and saves you time since you don't need to unpack, take it, install, and set the home projector up every time you want to use it.

With a light home projector, you can probably lift it from place to place without too much effort. With these home projectors, placing it on the table for each use is probably not a problem at all. In fact, portability has its advantages...you can literally take your home projector with you everywhere you go!

Dakota Caudilla, journalist, and website builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of [http://www.must-have-gadgets.com] on which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.

At the LCD Projector Center we concentrate very much on LCD projectors, so why am I writing about projector screens? Quite simple really. Buying your lcd projector in isolation from the screen without considering how they work together is likely to cost you more and give you less than perfect results.

How can picking the right projector screen save you money?

One of the biggest challenges when choosing an lcd projector is getting the right brightness for the room you are going to be using it in. For home use you can usually darken the room. This means you can buy a cheap lcd projector, often saving many hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

But often darkening the room significantly is neither possible nor desirable. Buying a higher specification projector will give you a brighter image, but it's probably cheaper to buy a high gain projector screen. The quality lcd projector may cost you a thousand dollars more than a dimmer model, whilst quality projector screens that enhance the image brightness and clarity are only a few hundred dollars more.

Projector Brightness and Screen Gain

The brightness of an lcd projector is given in ansi lumens. Typical values for home theater and business presentation use are 500 to 3000. The higher the number, the brighter the picture will be. At the low end a darkened room is essential, whilst at the very top end acceptable results are possible with higher light levels. The current generation of home use projectors are typically in the 1000-1500 range.

The gain of a projector screen is the increase in brightness of the image produced compared to a flat matt white screen. This is given as a simple number, eg 1, 1.5, 2 etc. A gain of 1 means the image is the same brightness as on a flat matt white surface, whereas 2 means the image is twice as bright.

As an example, if you decide you need about 1500 lumen to get an acceptable quality picture, you could buy a projector with that rating and worry about the screen later. Or you could buy a cheaper 1000 lumen model and match it to a projector screen with a gain of 1.5. This would give you an effective image brightness of 1500 lumen at a reduced cost.

Very High Gain Projector Screens

Typical cheap projector screens have gains of between 1 and 1.2. Gains of 1.5 to 1.8 are achieved with high quality perlescent finishes at about double the cost. If money is no object and you need the maximum gain possible then you need a chromatically matched projector screen.

Gains of up to 4 can now be achieved with matched projectors and screens. An lcd projector only transmits 3 narrow wavelengths of light in Red, Green and Blue. A matched projector screen is covered with material that reflects only these wavelengths. Almost all of the ambient light is absorbed or scattered, so the projected image appears very much brighter.

The Downside of High Projector Screen Gain

Whilst projector screen gain might help you use a cheap lcd projector in brighter rooms than it could cope with on its own, there are 3 trade-offs. These are the viewing angle, color shifting and uneven brightness.

High gain projector screens limit the viewing angle. For a screen with a gain of 1 the picture appears high quality out to about 50 degrees from the projector. But at a gain of 1.5 that viewing angle is reduced to about 35 degrees. Over 2 and the viewing angle is down to around 25 degrees, making it much more difficult to layout your room.

Color shifting happens due to the surface properties of the higher gain screens. A true white screen will render colors accurately. By trying to manipulate the way light reflects, a high gain screen can cause a shift in some of the colors. This is rarely a reason not to buy, unless you really do need the colors to be spot on.

The biggest impact a high gain projector screen has on image quality is the change is brightness from the center of the screen to the edge. There can be up to 30% difference at gains over 2. This is usually not too much of a problem, but it does become far more noticable the higher the viewing angle.

Conclusion

A little research and a bit of leg work could help you make great savings. Treat the projector screen as an integral part of your system and buy it together with your projector. Visit stores and insist on demonstrations with a variety of lcd projector and screen combinations.

Choosing a good quality, moderate gain (1.4-1.6) projector screen can decrease the cost and increase the performance of your system. A cheap lcd projector can produce a bright, clear image at higher than expected light levels. So whilst your projector screen may cost more, overall you save.

LCDProjectorCenter.com brings together all the latest news and reviews from the world of LCD Projectors. Research your home theater or business presentation LCD Projector at http://www.LCDProjectorCenter.com